8 New Stats About Working from Home

If you’d like to read the most up-to-date and comprehensives stats about working from home in the U.S. today, you’ve found the right place. FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics have partnered to present the 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce report.

The research from this extensive report was conducted independently by Global Workplace Analytics and underwritten by FlexJobs, and details the state of telecommuting when it comes to full-time workers who work from home at least half-time.

The full report includes specifics on the income levels, age, and gender of telecommuters; the geography of telecommuting and which cities have the most and fewest telecommuters; the industries and company sizes of telecommuters; and a whole lot more!

Unlike most other telecommuting data available today, this report focuses solely on full-time employees who say working from home is their “primary means of transportation to work,” rather than including freelancers, the self-employed, or people who work from home only occasionally.

And that’s what makes this report different, and interesting, compared to other data available: it’s about the steadily growing trend of employees working primarily from home on any given workday.

8 New Stats About Working from Home from the 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce Report

Based on a detailed analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by our partners at Global Workplace Analytics, the report details the rapid growth of telecommuting over a recent 10-year period.

Some of the most interesting findings include:

1. Increase in Telecommuting

The number of people telecommuting in the U.S. increased 115% between 2005 and 2015.

2. How Many People Telecommute at Least Half-Time

3.9 million U.S. employees, or 2.9% of the total U.S. workforce, work from home at least half of the time, up from 1.8 million in 2005.

3. Education and Salaries of Telecommuters

The average telecommuter has at least a bachelor’s degree and earns a higher median salary than an in-office worker.

4. Age and Gender of Telecommuters

The average telecommuter is 46 years of age or older. Telecommuting is more common among employees over 35 years of age and most common among baby boomers. Roughly the same population of women and men telecommute.

5. Telecommuting Exceeds Public Transit Use

In more than half of the top U.S. metro areas, telecommuting exceeds public transportation as the commute option of choice. It has grown far faster than any other commute mode.

6. How Many People Hold Telecommute-Compatible Jobs

Fifty-six percent of workers in the U.S. hold jobs that are compatible with telecommuting, up from 50% in 2014.

7. Savings from Telecommuting

Employers can save over $11,000 per half-time telecommuter per year. Full-time telecommuting employees save over $4,000 each year. Half-time telecommuting employees save an average of $2,677 annually in commuting costs.

8. Metro Areas with the Most Telecommuting Growth

Between 2005 and 2015, telecommuting grew 325% in Chattanooga, TN; 273% in Bremerton-Silverdale, WA; 246% in Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH/PA; 235% in New Haven, CT; and 227% in Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV.

The report also looks at interesting trends that will impact the job market, workforce, and the way we live and work for years to come, such as:

Trends in the telecommuting workforce over the last 10 years

Demographics of the average telecommuter (age, gender, education, salary)

Telecommuting by industry, occupation, and sector

Telecommuting by metro area (prevalence and growth)

Actual and potential economic and environmental impact of telecommuting

About the report, Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, said, “The trend is unmistakable. Leading employers are cashing in on the people, planet, and profit benefits of allowing their people to choose where they want to work.”

And Sara Sutton, founder and CEO of FlexJobs, said, “This data confirms what we’ve been observing at FlexJobs for the past 10 years, which is that more and more companies—whether they’re private, public, nonprofit, or startup—have recognized the bottom-line benefits of telecommuting and are increasingly incorporating this type of flexible work arrangement into their business strategies.”

Leave a Comment

2 Comments

Josie

December 31, 2014 at 9:54 pm

I am surprised by the statistics and embrace the good news. I have telecommuted for the past 7 years and I love it. I do find I get a lot more work done working from my home office versus going into the office. One can address the direct connection and be seen by the wonderful video conferencing technology that is widely accepted and available.

Just like non-traditional schools are being embraced, I am glad that non-traditional employment is becoming fully embraced too. I am glad that things are changing for work to adapt to employees rather than employees just adapting to work.